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	Honduras must address widespread impunity for crimes against women, girls by Rashida Manjoo UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women   July 2014   An independent United Nations human rights expert has urged the Government of Honduras to address the culture of widespread impunity for crimes against women and girls, while also noting that incidents of violence against women appear to be on the rise in the Central American nation.   “In Honduras, violence against women is widespread and systematic and it impacts women and girls in numerous ways,” the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Rashida Manjoo, said in a statement delivered on Monday following an eight-day mission to the country.   “The climate of fear, in both the public and private spheres, and the lack of accountability for violations of human rights of women, is the norm rather than the exception,” she added.   During her mission, which took her to Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba, Ms. Manjoo noted “scores of concerns as regards the high levels of domestic violence, femicide and sexual violence.”   Noting that Honduras is currently in a state of transition, she welcomed current attempts “to build institutions; foster trust and confidence in the new Government set up in January 2014; and address the climate of widespread and systematic crime, corruption and impunity.”   In particular, she welcomed the legislative, policy and programmatic measures taken by the Government to fight violence against women, including the recent amendments to the Penal Code to incorporate femicide as a specific crime.   However, Ms. Manjoo noted that incidents of violence against women appear to be on the rise, with an increase of 263.4 per cent in the number of violent deaths of women between 2005 and 2013.   Regrettably, without accurate, reliable and uncontested data, it is impossible to grasp the magnitude of violence against women in Honduras and to develop appropriate policies and responses to address it, she said.   Trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation purposes is also underreported in Honduras, mainly due the hidden nature of the crime and also the prevalence of organized crime.   The expert identified persisting and significant challenges in addressing violence against women, including the lack of effective implementation of legislation, gender discrimination in the justice system, inconsistencies in the interpretation and implementation of legislation, and the lack of access to services that promote safety and help prevent future acts of violence.   The lack of accountability for acts of violence against women and girls also remains a major obstacle, Ms. Manjoo said. It is reported that there is a 95 per cent impunity rate for sexual violence and femicide crimes.   She underlined that the State has a responsibility to hold accountable State authorities who fail to protect and prevent the violations of women’s human rights, due to a lack of response or due to ineffective responses. “The best interests of all women and girls should guide the response of the Honduran Government,” she stated.   “The importance of accountability as the norm for acts of violence against women cannot be over-emphasised, more especially within a context of generalised impunity for violence in the public and private spheres,” said Ms. Manjoo.   “The lack of focus and effective measures to address women’s empowerment needs is also a factor that contributes to continuing insecurity and fear, and precludes the possibility of eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls.   “I have noted with concern, the ineffective measures to address social transformation through activities that are not sustainable and that do not meet the goal of addressing myths and stereotypes about gender roles and responsibilities.”   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/SRWomen/Pages/SRWomenIndex.aspx Visit the related web page
	Development for Cambodia, but not at any price by Surya P. Subedi Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia   7 Oct 2014   Cambodian land grabs are ''crime against humanity'', lawyers tell ICC. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)   Violent, systematic seizures of small farmers'' land in Cambodia by members of the political elite constitute a crime against humanity, rights lawyers said on Tuesday in a claim before the International Criminal Court.   Politicians, businessmen and security forces have committed crimes including murder, forcible transfer of populations, illegal imprisonment, persecution, and other inhumane acts in order to enrich themselves and preserve their power, the legal communication alleges.   "Land-related human rights violations have reached shocking levels," Richard J Rogers, the lawyer who submitted the claim, said in a news release. "An ICC intervention will force the Cambodian government to reconsider its approach to land grabbing and suppression of dissidents."   It should take the ICC three to six months to decide whether to begin a preliminary examination, Rogers said in an email interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation. A full investigation would take longer.   Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan said the complaint was a partisan ploy by a local opposition party. "The motivation is to polarise," Siphan said in a phone interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.   Lawyers were hired by supporters of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party, he said.   The legal claim placed before the ICC alleges that since 2000, 770,000 people or 6 percent of Cambodia''s population have been affected by land grabbing, including 145,000 people forced out of the capital, Phnom Penh.   The case offers the ICC, based in The Hague, "a rare opportunity to confirm the crucial role of international criminal law in protecting peacetime populations from mass forcible transfer," said Rogers, a partner at the London-based firm Global Diligence LLP.   At least four million hectares of land, 22 percent of Cambodia''s land area, have been confiscated, with indigenous peoples particularly targeted, the International Federation for Human Rights based in Paris, a group working with Rogers'' lawsuit, reported.   The Cambodian government''s actions "amount to crimes against humanity" when taken cumulatively, the rights group said.   Cambodia ratified the ICC Statute in March 2002, giving the Court jurisdiction over alleged crimes against humanity or genocide committed on Cambodia''s territory since July 2002.   Many of the evicted residents were removed to make way for sugar or rubber plantations, or logging operations, Rogers said.   Some of the projects involved joint ventures between Cambodia''s ruling elite, and international investors, mostly from Thailand, China and Vietnam, Rogers said.   Displaced Cambodians were not available for interviews, lawyers managing the case said.   Once pushed off their land, Cambodians face appalling conditions in resettlement camps where food insecurity and disease are rife, complainants said.   http://www.trust.org/item/20141007172351-q2k3o/?source=fiOtherNews2 http://www.globaldiligence.com/global-diligence-file-article-15-communication-international-criminal-court/   10 July 2014   Development for Cambodia, but not at any price – UN expert calls for oversight and remedy on land concessions   The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Surya P. Subedi, today called on KDC International Company to halt a contested land development project in Kampong Chhnang province, and urged the Government to exercise proper oversight on land concessions and provide appropriate redress for those affected.   Mr. Subedi also called for calm and restraint from authorities, community members and construction workers involved in the long running and violent land dispute between KDC and families living in Ta Ches commune:   “For more than ten years now, the local community has been embroiled in a dispute over contested land and the complaints that they have sought to lodge with the court system against the authorities and KDC International for the alleged intimidation, violence and land loss, have remained unaddressed.   Every person has the right to a fair trial, both in civil and in criminal cases, and the effective protection of human rights depends on the practical availability to access competent, independent and impartial courts or dispute resolution mechanisms that can, and will, administer justice fairly.   However, in this case, like many others land disputes that have been bought to my attention, I have documented convictions of community members and activists, whilst the company was able to seize possession of disputed land before a decision was rendered by a competent, independent body addressing the community’s claims that the leased land is in fact owned by individual families.   Community members are negotiating compensation for land that they have already been dispossessed of, and are doing so under the threat of arrest.   I call on the company, KDC International, to immediately halt development of contested land until all claims by individual families have been properly assessed by an appropriate independent body in a fair and transparent way. Furthermore, I call on all sides to show restraint and to avoid confrontation and further violence.   The Royal Government of Cambodia is obliged under international human rights law to protect against human rights violations, including those committed by private enterprises. Too often, court cases submitted by families contesting ownership of land with wealthy business owners are denied their day in court, whereas those filed by the company against the villagers have been diligently processed and resulted in numerous convictions.   All persons are equal before the law and are entitled, without any discrimination, to the equal protection of the law. The Government must exercise proper oversight of the business enterprise developing the land concession and provide redress for any harm done.   Forced evictions cannot continue to be justified by claims that those evicted lack documentation or title, or are occupying state land. The majority of households involved in land disputes do not possess secure tenure and are simply unable to access dispute resolution procedures whilst land concessions are continually being developed on unregistered or disputed land.   Until occupants’ rights are properly determined, no eviction is legal.   The human right to adequate housing is the right of every woman, man, youth and child to live in a safe and secure home and community in peace and dignity. It is clear to me that all Cambodians want to see economic development; however this development is discriminatory and unsustainable, with adverse impacts too often felt by local communities who should in fact be the beneficiaries of such development projects.”   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/CountriesMandates/KH/Pages/SRCambodia.aspx http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/Pages/News.aspx http://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/httpPressReleases?ReadForm&count=10000 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session26/Pages/ListReports.aspx Visit the related web page
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